Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars is more of the same, but in the good way. Traveller’s Tales once again takes us to that galaxy far far away to slice and blast things into Lego bits and then build it back up again. Lego Star Wars 3 is based on the Cartoon Network series rather than the 2nd film. The game spans multiple worlds in a 3 part campaign. You will track General Grievous, Asajj Ventress and Count Dooku. The campaign spans 18 levels, 6 in each branch and also includes 2 prologue levels. As in the previous 2 games, as well as other Lego games, you will collect studs in each level to achieve True Jedi in order to attain a Gold Brick, and also collect Minikits. While playing through the game you will unlock multiple characters and Red Cheat Bricks and silly add-ons like Disguise Glasses. The game has almost no talking in it, just humorous gestures in the quirky cut scenes.



The game isn’t hard to play at all. Most might consider this a kiddy game, but it is a lot of fun to play. If you have played any other Lego game then you’ve played this before, this is just a Star Wars version. You will use your light saber to battle sith and droids as you make your way through levels solving the various puzzles along the way. The game also features split-screen coop, which is dynamic. This means if each player moves in opposite directions the screen will adjust to their character as they move. When the players move closer together the screen switches back to the same screen camera. The transition is very smooth and can be shut off if the player so chooses.



You will find yourself going back through the levels you’ve beaten in free play to find all the hidden collectibles, which gives the game good replay ability. In the HUB world you will be able to explore the Resolute and the Invisible Hand flagships, as well as the space between them. Both have their own secrets and unlocks. Players can also travel to the multiple planets’ orbits to finish certain mini-games. The game has several sections where you will fly a ship. This is enjoyable, but the ships are most of the time too fast for their own good. It is hard to hit a moving ship as there is no lock on like on the ground tanks. The camera also tends to become a problem at times as you must fly toward the screen sometimes and can fly out of range accidentally and get killed by the out of bounds cannons.



The game’s visuals are good, much better than the previous entries. The most noticeable part about the game is the lack of the environment being Lego. The game adds large amounts of enemies on screen never before seen in a Lego game. This is mostly used in Ground Battle, a new game mode pitting the Republic against the Separatist where the armies clash to complete an objective while capturing bases and constructing buildings and vehicles. The game also features a 2 player PVP mode which is just a versus Ground Battle with adjustable rules.



The game features the classic Star Wars theme song and a variety of tracks from the score which adds a nice mood to an awesome experience. The sound effects are what you’d expect from the light sabers and blasters. With all the effects mostly being the same from past Lego Star Wars games.
In my many hours playing the game I’ve only run into two bugs. The first was when I was in an elevator on the Invisible Hand. I stepped in and the elevator was going up and never stopped. I waited about 3 minutes which is far too long. I just saved and exited and it never happened again. The second was on Grievous Intrigue. A commando droid got stuck in a low wall. These bugs aren’t in anyway a game breaker, as they are not frequent.
The game is very fun and even better with a friend. With the added unlocks and collectibles the game boasts a very high replay value seldom seen in today’s market. If you are looking for a fun, humorous ride that will keep you laughing and playing all the way through then look no further than Lego Star Wars 3.

Story-7
Gameplay-9
Graphics-8
Sound-8
Replay-10
Overall-9

BUY IT!!!!

Brink is Splash Damage's attempt to put a fresh twist on the overused and dead first person shooter genre. The game takes place on the Ark, a floating city that has split into two parts over the last years. One side, the Resistance, a group of people trying to escape the Ark. On the other side is the Security, the Ark’s security force desperately trying to keep order. The play is simple; when you first start you select a side and begin your fight. You will progress through a couple levels as you work with your team to either complete objectives or stop the other team from completing theirs.



The game plays like your average shooter for the most part with a few exceptions. Using iron sights is not as rewarding as in Call of Duty, speed is your friend. You can parkour and slide, use these to your advantage to get the drop on enemies and get out before they know what hit them. This game requires loads of teamwork, better said; you must use teamwork. This is a multiplayer focused game though it can be played alone with bots, its way better to play it online with at least one friend. You can buff your teammates and build turrets or lay traps to better swing your odds of winning.



There are four classes, the soldier, the operative, the medic and the engineer. Each has their own unique abilities and key elements with certain objectives. For example the soldier is the only class that can set HE charges with the engineer being the only class that can disarm them. The objective wheel lets you keep track of both primary and secondary objectives that you can complete. You will find yourself swapping classes a lot during missions.



Each class will get abilities to unlock which are unlocked for purchase as you rise in level rank. You will gain the points to purchase them as you progress as well as unlocking further clothing and aesthetic options. Though there are some neat options the choices are very slim in the large picture, though it would be awhile before you ran into yourself in an online match. The problem is that once you reach level 20 you have all the custom items unlocked for both the side you’re playing and the opposite. There are also challenges to complete in a single player or multiplayer based objective game to unlock weapon attachments and new weapons. There is little variety really to the weapon add-ons but the ones they did add are the ones that really matter.



The game looks great the character models are very polished and realistic looking as well as the guns and textures. I had a few pop-ins but nothing major. There is very little music present in the game which isn’t bad but it is in there a bit and what’s in there is actually pretty good which made me wish there was a little more of it in the game.

Now that all the basics are said let’s focus on why I said this was an ‘attempt’. First off, the FPS genre is quickly festering in the corner. Games like Call of Duty and Halo have overused this basic pattern as games like Bioshock, Bulletstorm and Fallout have added in slight mechanics and new gameplay tweaks that make it a fun experience. With Brink the twist is the team based gameplay with buffing and support and then you got the parkour that basically rewrites most rules of engagement. With this it succeeds but where it fails is to give you the places to play it in. How many times can you replay the same map either defending or attacking the same objectives before you have gotten bored? There are only 8 main maps with 2 additional ‘what-if’ maps. That isn’t even taking into account you will only like a few. With limited weapons and unlocks, the insane lag at launch and the heavy focus on the multiplayer, the game is in need of a content pack with a couple new maps and some guns. The game is basically a good idea of gameplay and teamwork in an unfinished shell. I mean why have a giant floating city if you only explore a ¼ of it? The bottom line is unless you know you’ll be playing online with a friend a lot or if you play it and love it, just give it a rent for starters.



Story-5

Graphics-9

Gameplay-8

Sound-7

Replay-6

Overall-6.6



*Leave any feedback about the way I did this such as mention stuff in a specific order or going into detail stuff like that Im trying to perfect writing reviews. Thanks :D~

At first glance Front Mission Evolved may seem to just be another cookie cutter mech game, while this isn’t entirely untrue, it stands apart from other mech games like Mech Warrior. The main story is that of the protagonist Dylan Ramsey trying to rescue his father and ends up joining the army and being drug into the struggle between the U.S.N., D.H.Z. and O.C.U. created by an unknown enemy. The story isn’t as great as I’d like it to be with its boring and predictable moments. The only good voice acting in my opinion is by Dylan and the main antagonist. There really isn’t any more to say about the story it is in fact very dry and shallow. The story is not what is going to bring you to this fight though.



The gameplay is awesome. I would say it is very smooth and fluid as you could make a mech game though there are a few issues with weapons and movement. I haven’t played a straight up mech game since Mech Warrior: Lone Wolf on original Xbox so yes I don’t exactly know where the genre has gone since but I have played Lost Planet 1 and 2 which incorporate mechs heavily. The mech controls and fluidity of Front Mission beat out Lost Planets flat out but there is one thing both share and do well, fast pace. The thing I love and respect the most out of Front Mission Evolved is how fast the gameplay moves and how solid it is. You won’t spend four hours popping out of cover and hiding from enemies like in other games you will be right up there at the front lines raining death upon enemy wanzers. That is to say if you want to be on the front lines. There is a ranged option to the game being missiles and sniper rifles. The game features an awesome customizable mech or wanzer as they call them. You can change all the parts like arms, torso and legs as well as weapons, backpacks and the color of each part. You may have a maximum of 4 weapons at a time.



You may wield a weapon in each hand and 2 shoulder mounted weapons. The weapons range from machine guns, light machine guns, assault rifles, melee, bazooka shields, shotguns and rifles. Rifles require both hands to use them. Shoulder mounted weapons are the heaviest and include rocket launchers, missile launchers and miniguns. In addition to weapons you may choose a battle skills. These are activated in combat after a certain percentage of hits with that weapon is reached. They include things like increased missile accuracy and corrosive shots. Depending on what weapon you have you can have 3 slots which lets you select the 3rd tier of a battle skill which is the most powerful. You will also choose a backpack. The default is an agility backpack that lets you boost and hover. You unlock later ones like the repair backpack and missile defense backpack.



There are also a couple missions where you will be on foot in buildings. This is also very smooth with a nice pop out aim when your crouched that will put you back into crouch when not aiming. There are only 3 weapons which is a Vector submachine gun, shotgun and rocket launcher. These instances are few but offer a nice break from being cooped up in that hunk of tin. The only complaint I really have is that there is no shoulder switch button which can be a pain when your trying to shoot an enemy around a corner to the right. Also another complaint is how easily you can die and the lack of healthpacks around, this is also a complaint about the main game.



The game isn’t the best looking game out there but that isn’t saying it looks bad. The only thing I found really dated was the cutscenes. It looks like they used motion capture for most movement which has a nice outcome giving the character and the wanzers a sense of realism. My favorite effect in the game is the missile trails and how they shoot toward enemies it just seems so realistic. There are alot of cheesy explosions in some of the cutscenes which are totally overdone but that is a Japanese game for you.



In closing I’d like to complement the game for its awesome gameplay and pacing which is what really hooked me . I’ve never been a huge mech game fan, except for Lost Planet, but if they keep making ones like this I will keep playing them!

The darkness pierces deep into your heart as you descend deeper into the castle. Your lantern shows just a sliver of the way ahead of you as you step down the stairs. There is a door ahead of you. You slowly and cautiously open the door. A dark room with a bookcase and a table and a door to the left. As you step through you hear a deep bellowing moan. You panic and shut the door behind you. You run into the next room and find a closet. You open the door and step in and close it, hiding within. You hear heavy footsteps and a crash as the door is thrown open. You wait a bit and the footsteps fade into the distance. You open the door to see if its safe. You continue to the next room and enter a long hallway filled with lanterns. Then again the chilling bellow of the creature frightens you. You sprint forward as you hear a door break behind you. You rush into the next room and notice a crank for a gate. You have little time to escape and there is no place to hide. This is just one of the many heart pumping moments of Amnesia: The Dark Descent.



This indie game from Frictional Games may seem to be a dull game at first but it is very much the contrary. As Daniel you start out waking up in a dark castle. A storm is brewing outside as you stumble to your feet. Without giving away any spoilers, the main plot of Amnesia is explained in a letter you wrote to yourself. You have no memory, amnesia, you have also self-inflicted it. Your goal is to make your way to the inner most sanctum and kill Alexander. But beware there is a shadow following you, a living nightmare. It is from here that you set upon your quest of terror. You will find notes and journal enteries all pulling you deeper into the story of what has brought you here and the mystery behind it all.



The game is based not around cheap scares but more on terror and the fear of the unknown. The game wants you to think, “what if theres a monster around the next corner?” It thrives off this concept as the game is dark and filled with danger. One of the elements that adds to the games terror is the lack of combat. You can not fight monsters what so ever. So it is up to you to run and hide in a dark corner until the monster leaves. This also leads to another key element, sanity. As in other Lovecraft inspired games such as Call of Cthulhu and Eternal Darkness, everything in the game has an effect on your sanity. Seeing monsters, lingering in darkness and witnessing unsettling events all drop your sanity. As it drops you will start to loose focus and hallucinate. Things like staying in the light and solving puzzles regain your sanity. So the only sure fire way to keep yourself from going insane is to keep progressing through the game.



The gameplay is adventure and puzzle solving. Be it finding pieces to make a drill which will allow you to drill into a vat which will give you liquids to make an explosive compound which will clear a blocked path ,to simply finding a way to break a worn padlock, all are much more difficult then they seem to be. The gameplay is really topnotch. I really like games that test your skill and wits way more than simple shooters like Call of Duty. This game will test just how quick and witty you can be with a unique control system that has you pull or rotate objects as you would in real life.



The graphics and physics are very good with water being the most well polished. It is so good in fact that my computer could barely handle it as it would slow when I was in an area with a certain amount. There is actually not very many areas with water in them which is actually a good thing and you’ll find out why when you play.

The sound both in terms of the sound and music as well as voicework is superb. When you find Daniels scattered journal enteries he will give a commentary of what the entry is. Also at certain areas there will be a flashback to give a more indepth feel of how gruesome the castle was and what took place there long ago as well as some of Daniel’s encounters there. From the deep bellow of the Shadow, to the moaning warning of an approaching monster it will all chill you and make you think twice about what you do next.

I will recommend this game more than anything else out there. The amount of detail and sheer creativity and craftsmanship that Frictional games has endowed into this masterpieces is astounding. The fact that this game hasn’t got it’s deserved recognition is a disrespect. Although Joystiq and Gameinformer have both done very well written pieces that applaud the games craftsmanship, I feel it needs more recognition. If you haven’t already, get this game. Steam has sales every now and then Amnesia was already on it twice I picked it up half-off. They have their christmas sale right now. If not Steam then you can purchase it on the maker’s website. Get this game just in time for the holidays and try not to wet your pants. Merry Christmas.

Story-10

Graphics-9

Sound-10

Gameplay-10

Replay-Moderate

Overall-9.9

This game at times makes me want to launch infants out of a cannon in to shark infested waters, well maybe not but it makes me mad sometimes. This game as great as it is has flaws but others may say they’re there for a reason. One I think is the difficult curve well there is none it’s hard all the way through. If you level up strength and such and go back to say the very first level your gonna one shot almost everyone. But in progression through it there really isn’t an easier path that you can take. Now let me explain this, in games like say Ratchet and Clank it is pretty base line normal with gradual difficulty spikes in it but if you level up a gun to beast status that makes it a bit easier. Get what I’m saying? There is none of that. You can get a weapon up there to do really well but in the end what I believe this game comes to is speed and reflexes. I have the starting Mirdan armor or for the Temple Knight and a level 9 or 10 winged spear, spears and pole arms are in fact THE SHIT. So I fought the Penetrator and he kicked my ass at first but I decided the way to do this is to be patient and time shots. It worked I avoided his light attacks and followed with a quick jab with the spear while blocking then avoided his lunge devastating attack and followed with a jab and had some 2 handed strong attacks in there. This game is all about strategy and reflexes. I noticed this early on as I used the spear lunge to stab those jump attack zombie right as they jump. I’m sure once you get your strength and such up to high levels you can play and get hit and it won’t even scratch you and you will have no need for strategy but it’s better to be wise than strong I think.





The gameplay is great. I haven’t played an action RPG with such good control in a long time. When I first played this at my bro’s house I didn’t even use the targeting; now it is a basic thing. The button layout is great and the attack combos are smooth and realistic. I do like how if your using say a halberd one handed in a hallway it hits the walls. The item system is fine and the equipment screen was simple but good not like some games such as DDO that has a complete eyesore of an inventory screen. But back to the targeting, I love how you just click the right thumbstick and it locks on then you go right and it moves to the right enemy if there is one. It’s so smooth and unflawed. One of the problems I had was with the currency. Although I like the souls and such because without it the game would not really make any sense. The thing I didn’t like was that there is no weapons or armor to buy. There is a couple but most are lower than the ones you start with. I believe this is to focus on just one weapon or 2-3 and upgrade those. I have been using the same equipment for almost all but maybe 3 hours of my whole playtime. I do like this though because in a way it’s like that is your weapon. Just like Frodo had sting and Arthas had Frostmourne. I wish they had a system like LotRO where your weapon levels up that would have been sweet. I liked this though it reminded me of games like God of War or Dante’s Inferno where you have the same weapons but you just level them up. I haven’t been able to see this unique item making that you give unique demon souls to make better weapons or something because I can’t beat the boss to get the other blacksmith. My apologies for that, that’s why I held off doing this forever was to get further to give more feedback but I still haven’t beaten him and no one would help me on him. I got help and helped on the tower knight but not this one. I have gotten a ways in though I beat the tower prison. I got raped by that damn maneater and his clone but in the end I kicked their b*tch asses. I want to applaud the coop system as being to me the best part of the game along with the whole soul business. I think it’s very unique that you can help someone reclaim there body by having them help you kill a demon. I wish, however, that it was more often that I could do coop. I don’t have many people on my friends that play and it may be how old the game is but I always see bloodstains and spirits so I know this game still boasts a big playerbase.





The game looks great. I love the character and monster design, though I hate the centipede head things near the end of the whole tower prison level they almost made me puke as centipedes and millipedes disgust me. A lot of the enemies were unique and very well crafted. One of things I loved the most was that all the enemies had a weakness to exploit, most of them being attack based such as you attacking them right after they lunge. I love the bosses. I’m a big fan of huge enemies. I love Monster Hunter for that sole reason. Most are just big but hopefully near the end they’ll get like Shadow of the Colossus big. The last thing about the game is its sheer absence of music throughout most of the game. There is music in some parts and situations but it is silent for the most part. I for one loved this, I found it great as it is eerie and lets you hear nearby enemies and the surroundings. This game is tough and will upset you if you let it. The trick is to be patient and learn from mistakes and most of all observe the enemies attack and when you are able to attack. Judge the general distance you can wing so you don’t get too close or stay too far. Using all these things in conjunction will make you a demon slayer. Hope this helped a little. Good luck.





9/10 Stars

Let’s start by saying this is one of my favorite games of all time solely because of the gameplay. I love the great 3rd person fast paced gameplay of the game mixed with fighting huge ass bosses it’s such a good mix. The strongest point of this game is not the story. The story isn’t that bad it doesn’t focus on a main character or even a couple main characters rather it focuses on 3 factions: NEVEC, Mercenaries and Fight Junkies. While NEVEC you as NEVEC and then EX-NEVEC. As the Mercenaries you play as the Mercenaries and the Waysiders. Then as the Fight Junkies you play as only the Treasure Borrachos, a group of Sand Pirates. There are 6 Episodes each with 3 Chapters with the exception of Episode 4 having 5 and 6 having 4. In each chapter there are at least 3-4 levels in which you must traverse and get to an exit which loads the next level. The bulk of the campaign is played by the NEVEC/EX-NEVEC with only 2 levels for the Mercenaries and one for the Fight Junkies, the remaining 3 are NEVEC.



The factions shift after each episode eventually leading up to a climax in which all factions meet to confront the Over-G, an enormous Akrid whose T-Energy consumption may trigger another ice age if not stopped. The over all goal is to destroy it. The game features some of the best boss battles I’ve ever played. One level has you running to the front of a train avoid a giant Cat-G Akrid called ‘Red Eye’ that starts to eat the back cars as you shoot of canisters of T-Energy in an attempt to slow it down. After that your helicopter crashes in the desert where you must fight sand pirates and eventually 2 giant Akrid that attack with sonic blasts. You get another train and then end up jumping from that train to another train that is mounted with a giant cannon on the front. Then you fight your way to front and must use the cannon as the ‘Red Eye’ returns. In the battle you must load shells, energize and shoot them at the ‘Red Eye’. All while having to activate a cooling system if the train takes damage. There are also a number of things on the cannon deck you can activate such as a crane to get easy shells. This makes for an amazing level and one of the best boss battles I’ve ever played. Another has you underwater on a spiral base walkway thing battling a rotating experimental sub VS that launches seeking missiles at you. This along with the gameplay of the game is the strongest part of the game.



Another great part of the game is the music. The game features and awesome orchestrated score that is beautiful and fights great with the scenes and moments they put it with. The sound on the guns and VS’s are good I think some of the guns could’ve been tweaked to be better but I have no complaints. Multiplayer and Co-op are a big part of the game. There is 2 player offline coop (though unplayable on anything small then a 50” flat screen due to the pitiful tiny split screen) and then 4 player online coop. This game has been out for a while and I’m surprised, pleasantly so, at the number of people online for both coop and multiplayer on the PS3. I have played a couple games coop and only about 2 multiplayer and I loved it.



Now for the important part. This is a statement about most Capcom games actually. This game has learned almost nothing from the first games mistakes.

Let’s take a side trip to Monster Hunter for a second. I had Monster Hunter Freedom 1 on PSP years ago and remember how the sluggish animations, knockback and lack of decent camera control almost ruined the game for me. The animations are the biggest problem for me. For example: when you drink a potion your character always does an arm flex, this is unavoidable you can’t do anything to interrupt it and you are completely vulnerable. It only takes a second but in this game that’s all the time it takes for you to get killed. When you eat some food you’ll have to pat your stomach taking almost 2 seconds. When you get knocked down you’ll have to roll about 20 times then take your time getting up. You see where I’m going? Then the knockback is god awful it takes so long and is so over-used. Then the camera, this is an action RPG. You have melee and ranged weapons. The ranged weapons work fine. There is no lock on or anything. You rotate the camera with the D-pad but move with the thumbstick so to rotate the camera you must take your thumb off of the thumbstick and hit the D-pad, leaving you vulnerable. You can use the L button to snap the camera but that will only get you so much. Also there are a ton of actions mapped to one button it is so confusing at times. This is the first Monster Hunter Freedom 1. I just got Monster Hunter Freedom 2 and Monster Hunter Freedom: Unite. Not a lot has changed from 1 to 2 and all the problems carry over. Now from 2 to Unite there were some minor changes but none of the bigger problems fixed. This is disappointing because besides the huge problems it causes for gameplay, it is a great game.



Moving back to Lost Planet 2. Problems for the first game like sluggish animations, stupid knockback and 50 different actions for one button, very similar to the problems to Monster Hunter. The animation problems are things like when you fall from a certain height you have to stumble and get to your feet which takes too long. The knockback isn’t so bad in terms of getting knocked down but when you are getting hit with minigun fire you can’t act. You can barely shoot; you can’t throw grenades, roll or use your harmonizer. These are indeed big problems with the game but none of them have really distracted me from how fun the game is. The IGN review was done by a bias piece of *** named Arthur Gies, he has had numerous reviews in which all he does is b*tch about certain parts of the game that bothered him and not point out the good and fun parts of the game. It was a completely unfair review and it’s obvious because of how low the Critics rated it compared to the Customer reviews. Almost everyone who played it loved it and gave it a 7 or above.



In closing the game has a great sense of customization. There is an unlock system where after every 10th level, up to level 30, you unlock a new outfit for that certain faction. After you beat the game you can use any of the faction characters in the campaign instead of the assigned faction. There is also points you get that are used in a slot machine to unlock weapons, outfits, titles, emotes and abilities that you can assign in your character screen.

All and all the game is great and even better if you like 3rd Person games with fast action. I say check it out it is worth a rent at least.[img]